Best for Flavored Milk-Based Drinks
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Photograph: Andrew Watman
The Numilk is unique for nut milk makers in that you don’t actually insert nuts and water into the machine. I like the final product, but I’m not sure why this entire machine is necessary to make these milks. It comes with a variety of concentrated flavor packets, which you then tear and insert into the top of the machine. You fill the provided container with water, place it in the machine, and then the packet empties out into the water and gets blended together.
They do get mixed very well, but you could really just use a blender if you don’t want to buy a whole extra gadget. The flavor packets are pretty tasty, so you could in theory just buy those on their own and blend them yourself. The container that the flavor packet pours into to be both the best and worst design aspect of this product. I like that it comes with a sturdy container that the milk gets poured into directly. The silicon lid is also very tight and doesn’t have any leakage when you shake it to mix the inevitable separation. However, you can’t swap this container for another because it’s custom to the Numilk and needs to snap in place so the blender works properly. So when you have one milk sitting in the fridge, you’re not able to make another until you’re finished with that one. —Andrew Watman
| Specs | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher included? | Yes |
| Need to soak nuts? | N/A |
| Pulp in milk? | No |
| Heats milk? | No |
| Maximum net milk per cycle | 4 cups |
| Time per cycle | About 1 minute |
A Nut Milk Maker That Also Makes Soups and Sauces
Photograph: Tribest
Looking like a slightly overgrown electric kettle, the Tribest Soyabella is a simple plant milk maker that can do other things, such as make soups, infusions, and tofu. It is rather too simple, though—the only option is to make raw or heated milk, chosen by a pair of buttons on the top of the device. This top lifts off to reveal the device’s workings: a blender arm and a filter cup. To make a batch of milk, you put up to 4 cups of water in the vessel and a cup of your plant material into the filter cup, which twists to lock onto the top. The blender then grinds up the material and mixes it with the water, while the filter cup keeps the plant pulp contained. The process takes about a minute for raw milk and between 15 and 25 minutes for hot milk, depending on how much water you add. I found the results from the suggested recipes relatively weak and watery; the instructions suggest that you run the cycle two or three times to get a better result, which was a good idea. It would be better if there were a way to set a longer blend time. There is also no provision here for automatically soaking the plant source, so you must do that manually.
The short manual shows how to use it to make soup, sauces, and soft tofu, and includes a good selection of recipes for various dishes. A grinding cup is also included, which fits over the blender arm to grind dry ingredients. The Tribest Soyabella tries to be a jack-of-all-trades but doesn’t master any of them. It makes decent milk, but only if you run it twice or thrice. —Richard Baguley
| Specs | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher included? | N/A |
| Need to soak nuts? | No |
| Pulp in milk? | Yes |
| Heats milk? | Yes |
| Maximum net milk per cycle | About 5 cups |
| Time per cycle | 1 to 25 minutes |
Compare Our Picks
When Andrew Watman tested, he made three types of milk with each. For almond milk he used unroasted, unsalted almonds. For cashew, he used unroasted, unsalted cashews. For macadamia, he used dry roasted, unsalted macadamia nuts. I used old-fashioned rolled oats, unsalted raw almonds, and unsweetened coconut shreds.
For the machines, we looked for a well-engineered products that will last a long time, as well as ergonomic and intuitive design. Many of these required the machine’s parts to be separated and cleaned thoroughly, especially because the mushy plant matter can have a tendency to stick. Any machine that had a thoughtful design with cleaning was rated higher.
I also considered the length of time it took to produce the milk, as well as the simplicity of using the product (and ease of cleaning it). We also examined the taste and smoothness, comparing it to each other and store-bought milks. I also added additional sweeteners like agave, dates, and lavender simple syrup to see how the flavors changed with each machine.
These freshly made plant-and nut-based milks are all going to have a shorter shelf life than plant milks you buy at the store (typically about five days) because of the lack of added preservatives. We looked for machines that weren’t just blenders, but specifically curated for making the best plant milk possible.
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